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Historic Home to Modern Marvel!

A couple fell in love with this historic beauty in the heart of SouthPark and redecorated the interior in Modern style!

This enthralling featurestory isfrom the pages of SouthPark Magazine.”When Windy and Blake OConnor and their two children, Lily Rook and Wilson, were on a walk one evening in SouthPark, they came across a home for sale that theyd not seen before. Intrigued by the charming faade of the one-time carriage house situated on the former Governor Morrison estate, the OConnors decided they had to see the interior.

Once they did, it was love at first sight.

We were totally smitten, says Windy a local artist. When we first walked into the house it was a done deal. We were in love. There have been very few times Ive entered a home and felt the intimacy of the space right away.

Though quite a bit of updating and renovating needed to be done to the home, the OConnors were not deterred. After purchasing the English Tudor-style homethe only former carriage house on the estatethe OConnors lived in the three-bedroom home for a year before enlisting the help of architect Ruard Veltman. Its an unbelievably charming structure thats very unexpected for Charlotte because of its age and style, says Veltman. Usually people who see the home fall in love with it. But in the 1980s the homeowners had added an addition that wasnt appropriate for the OConnors. Windy and Blake essentially said if were going to touch anything on the house this is it. Veltmans challenge then became how to alter the home by modernizing it and reworking the layout without it disrupting the original, historic footprint.

Veltman and the OConnors took inventory of what was most important. The answer: working with the homes existing open layout but moving the kitchen, renovating the existing addition, and removing the existing pool and adding a new one that complemented the eventual vista created from the renovation. The addition was severing a major access of the main room, says Veltman. The solution was to recreate an entry sequence that reflected the homes charm. When you approach [the front door], its a little mysteriousyou dont quite know how to enter it. And we wanted to play off that.

Veltman then turned the existing galley kitchenwhich was much too small for the couple, who entertain often and have even held a 300-plus person party at the home post-renovation during the Mints Museums home tour last springinto a laundry room. At the back of the home, Veltman added a more modern kitchen complete with marble and sandstone countertops and custom cabinetry. Because of Windys background of an artist, Veltman urged her to commission herself a piece, which resulted in a panel of the custom kitchen cabinetry prominently featuring Windys artwork. Additional artwork by Windy is featured throughout the home, as well as pieces by other artists including works by Scott Avett of famed band, The Avett Brothers.

Adjacent to the family room is an inglenooka cut out space by the fireplace for reading and relaxingwhich was introduced into the open layout during the renovation. One of the most dramatic changes, though, is the renovation of the pool, which now boasts a clean, sophisticated shape and more modern landscaping. This new outdoor area serves as the backdrop for the inglenook and floor-to-ceiling windows on either side.

In the end, Veltman succeeded in not compromising the homes historic character and charm but also designed a layout that fit the OConnors more modern lifestyle. [The result] is beyond my expectations, says Windy. We still pinch ourselves when we wake up in the morning in this house. We love it exactly the way it is.

This just goes to show that you never know when you may fall head-over-heels with a house or peice of real estate. And you can customize your home to your liking over time. All this just goes to show that effort does not go unrewarded!

Are you looking for your own SouthPark Home for Sale to Design into your own work of art? Check out some of these active listings!

Southpark Homes

Listings 1 - 6 of 6


Listings 1 - 6 of 6

See anything you like? Just give me a call, 704-502-8177 or shoot me an email: eileen.nelis@gmail.com